Sunday, 17 May 2015

A day in York..

For many years now, I have been desperate to visit the beautiful and historical city of York in northern England. When my grandparents kindly suggested a trip to York, I jumped at the opportunity. I may be 20 years of age but I still love having days out with my grandparents, I always will. A day in York was perfect..

As soon as we arrived it was very clear that York is a historical city. I have always adored history such as looking into my personal family history or enjoying a Tudor history lesson in school. The history of the United Kingdom (and other countries) and the way people used to live in the past interests me so much. I especially appreciate visiting historical places like castles or little towns so a city full of history was perfect - I love York!

We began our day by struggling to find parking (it is a busy city after all) and driving around York. Eventually we found parking close to the city centre and jumped out of the car near to a pretty little park. We wandered through the park and enjoyed viewing the ruins above.

The Royal coat of arms above - a national symbol. It represents England, Ireland and Scotland.. where is Wales?!

We also wandered past the Archbishop's palace which has a nice plaque to remind us of King Richard III visiting there in 1483.

We arrived around lunchtime so we decided to stop for lunch before more exploring in the city. The cafe we went into was expensive .. and gave my grandad food poisoning! He had a tuna sandwich so I guess the fish was dodgy unfortunately. He was then quite unwell in the evening and the next day after our trip. I enjoyed my lunch but due to the high prices and the beautiful scenery/weather I would reccommend a picnic or a cafe with outdoor seating.

My lovely grandparents.

After lunch we found the cathredral!

The York cathredral York Minster is a beautiful building that stands proudly in York - and was very hard to photograph! The cathredral was built for religious purposes wonderfully.

We even got to explore inside. The stain glass windows were fascinating.

After examining the inside of the cathedral we continued with our lovely walk through York. I loved the little alleys, aged windows and just the area in general - the combination definitely provided a historical atmosphere with their aged details.

Look at how cute the windows are?! My imagination went wild imagining the way people lived in there.

We then went on to find Clifford's tower..

Clifford's tower is another historic attraction in York which was originally built by William the Conqueror. The tower was used to subdue the rebels of the north in battle. Once I had climbed to the top of the tower with my grandad, I could fully understand what the tower was used for - the view of York! Whilst it was obviously handy to view the whole of York for battle, it also allows us modern day tourists to view York from a different perspective.

Look how small doors once were!

The beautiful view of York!

A random man viewing York

Once we'd climbed back down from the tower and found my grandmother, we went for a quick coffee then headed back to the car to begin the two hour journey back to my grandparents home.
But on the way back to the car I made a new friend ..

Olly the owl! I paid a small amount to hold him andd it was a cute experience.

Overall I really enjoyed my day in York! I would like to go back and stay for longer, in order to do more exploring, because I believe there is so much more to see in this wonderful city.

I hope you found this post interesting, especially if you aren't familiar with the city of York. I've crammed so many pictures into this post but I'm not sorry - York was beautiful and I believe that photos says a tonne more than words ever could.

5 comments:

OH my... I am SO jealous of your adventure!! I've never been to Europe (although I am making a serious effort to this year), but loved living vicariously through your blog post. What a fun day exploring with your grandparents (who are adorable, btw). And that owl.. That's just the cherry on top to a lovely day!

I'm jealous of your adventure in NYC too! You should definitely come to Europe, there is so much to see! I'll look forward to reading your posts and thoughts about Europe if you do travel over. Thank-you for your lovely comments :) x

Thank you for your comment on my spaghetti bolognese post :) I too am not a vegetarian, but I find mince, especially, can be so fatty. When it's used in bolognese or lasagne, I find veggie or soy mince tastes just as good, and is much more healthy. Your pasta bake sounds yummy too!

I'm trying to post more recipes on my blog, so you'll have to keep checking back :) xx

Also my parents have visited York a few times and go on and on about how lovely it is. Your photos have definitely backed up their opinions. I'm going to add it to my list of places to visit. I really want to explore more of the UK :) xx

Your spag bol post was lovely, I'll look foward to reading more of your recipe posts :) I loved my pasta bake! Yeah I want to cut more mince out because I do think its fatty and not entirel healthy, although I guess it is a source of protein. And yes, York was beautiful and such a lovely day out! Your parents are right to tell you how lovely York is.. you should definitely visit :) xx

About Me

Hello my name is Alexandra, I love my name but I prefer to be known as Alex. I am an English, 20 year old, nursing student who lives in South Wales. I adore baking, photography, reading, my friends/family, my boyfriend and my labrodoodle Bailey. I post what ever I feel like. Posts used to be beauty/clothing related (and the odd one may still be) but I'm aiming for more of a lifestyle blog. I hope you enjoy what you read x